Beneath Harlem’s skyline stands the slender steeple of Ephesus Seventh Day Adventist Church. This cultural landmark on West 123rd Street and Lenox Avenue has significant roots. It’s the birthplace of the Boys Choir of Harlem in 1968.
The Ephesus Seventh Day Adventist Church shares origins with the Elmendorf Reformed Church. Both churches emerged from the Harlem Reformed Dutch Church. The separation occurred along economic lines in 1887. This building was then constructed as the Second Collegiate Church of Harlem. It served wealthier families in western Harlem.
John Rochester Thomas designed this late Victorian Gothic Revival building. Construction took place between 1885 and 1887. The building features yellowish Ohio sandstone. Thomas also designed the Hall of Records or Surrogate’s Court. He designed over 150 churches including Calvary Baptist Church.
The church’s slender tower once had a metal crocket. The lower level shows corbels of monsters flanking the entrance. Between the doors is a mustachioed man’s head. A bell cast in Amsterdam in 1734 was brought here. It belonged to the original Harlem church. The Church Hall became the Youth Chapel built in 1894-1895.
By the late 1920s Harlem’s demographics shifted. Many white Protestants moved away. In 1929 the Collegiate Reformed congregation relocated downtown. They took the bell and became the East Eighty-ninth Street Reformed Church.
In 1930 an Adventist congregation leased the building. It was formed by merging two older black groups. This group now named Ephesus purchased the building in 1939. The Ephesus Seventh Day Adventist Church quickly grew. By 1945 membership reached 1000. The mortgage was paid and a new pipe organ was installed.
January 9 1969 was a tragic day. A fire started in the Youth Chapel’s roof. It quickly spread destroying the entire interior. Three stained glass windows were saved. Firefighters took great care protecting them. The fire weakened the steeple. The top 30 feet were removed to prevent collapse.
While the Ephesus Seventh Day Adventist Church was rebuilt from 1969 to 1978 members worshipped elsewhere. They gathered at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. The interior and roof were completely rebuilt costing $2.3 million. In 1978 the congregation returned. The truncated steeple was restored in December 2006. A replacement pinnacle of lead-coated copper and steel was added.
The Ephesus Seventh Day Adventist Church is in the Mount Morris Park Historic District. It was designated in 1971 by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission.
The present organ was built by the Wicks Organ Company in 1973. The organ was stored until installation in the summer of 1976. Exposed pipes are in front of a screen masking the chamber. The detached three-manual drawknob console sits in the choir gallery’s center. The organ cost $100000.
The Adventist Community Services of Ephesus Seventh Day Adventist Church supports the Harlem community. Directed by Dr. Hydie Aurelien the department offers clothing and food distribution. They also provide piano crochet and CPR classes. This embodies the church’s mission.